Avec - Chicago, IL - Tapas Bar Done Right

Though Blackbird might be Chef Paul Kahn's flagship restaurant, the adjacent Avec, whose tiny kitchen is helmed by Chef Koren Grieveson might be receiving more national acclaim at the moment. I'm not as familiar with Kahn's Chicago-based restaurant group, but I have heard more than a few things about Avec in the national food media. If anything, I feel like Avec has stolen Blackbird's thunder as one of the hottest restaurants in the city. Indeed we felt this palpably when we were told we had at least an hour wait when we arrived there on a recent Friday night. Determined to get a table, we waited at the nearby sushi spot (apparently pretty good in its own right, but nothing special in my L.A.-centric point of view) and had a couple of beers to temper the appetite.

Finally we got a call on our cellphone and were seated at the end of one of the long banquette tables in the truly shoebox shape of the restaurant. The wood lining and the sharp angles make for a fresh take on a log cabin, the warmth of the wood-fired oven providing diners with the perfect postmodern sense of rusticity. That said, the stainless steel bar and kitchen appointments remind me that I'm still in the middle of a chic Chicago.

The menu has a smorgasbord of various small plates ready to be shared by your dining companions. We pick up an order of the salumi/charcuterie, with highlights such as speck, fionochiona, and prosciutto (or was it serrano?). Either way, it's a perfect start to the meal, the various smoky and meaty flavors aided by the tender, even luscious textures of the charcuterie.



For me the highlight of the night will always be the Medjool dates, which are stuffed into dense chorizo, wrapped with thick bacon slices, and finally covered in a peppery, spicy, and slightly tangy piquillo pepper-tomato sauce. It's a burst of sweet, salty, tangy, hearty, and comforting. I rave about it for about 10 minutes. This dish alone is worth the trip (and very long wait).

A dish of sunchoke crostinis arrives, the mashed sunchokes laid onto slices of crusty bread and topped with brussels sprouts, radishes, and truffle oil. I can't taste too much of the truffle oil, which is sometimes a good thing as the oil tends to dominate dishes, but the dish just leaves me wanting another flavor element.

Housemade fennel sausage comes with roasted garlic reminds us that meat is supreme, with gently roasted red tropia onions giving a sweet counterpoint to the dish. Cheryl loves the roasted garlic, with its harsh aromas tempered by the heat of the wood fire. We also ordered a pan-friend white fish, which didn't seem memorable enough for me, but perhaps it was just overshadowed by the other meat dishes.

Last but certainly not least, we had a plate of the burgundy snail, diced into eatable pieces into a dense polenta cake and topped with lemon aioli, chervil, and chives. Cheryl's boyfriend Jack, who was initially afraid of this dish, ended up proclaiming it as his favorite. The snails gave a mushroom-like texture to the polenta (in the best possible way) while the brighter garnishes balanced out the richness of the polenta.

The popularity of Avec plays into the current economic downturn and the desire for people to dine on what's familiar and comfortable. Avec, which means "with" in French, gives you the opportunity to dine "with" your friends and neighbors (quite literally) in the small space. You get the sense you're at one big dinner party instead of a stuffy, formal dinner. Our paycheck came out to about $40 bucks a person including tax, tip, and a quartino of sparking wine, which seems more than reasonable to me.

Avec
615 W. Randolph
Chicago, IL 60661
312-377-2002

Hours: Sun-Thu 3:30PM - 12:00AM
Fri-Sat 3:30PM - 1:00AM

Bar closes one hour after the kitchen.

Note: Avec doesn't take reservations but you can put down your name and have them call your cell phone when your table/seat is ready.